User blog:AlbertEpstein/Interview with Mike Interbartolo, Best Belter Cosplay, Best Attention to Detail
https://i.redd.it/tptf3j3q40uz.jpg Hi everyone! Welcome to the first in a series of fan profiles on this wiki. This is one in a sequence of profiles on the cosplayers of the Expanse fandom. Mike Interbartolo was kind enough to answer some questions for us on the wiki. Mike submitted photos of a Belter in an VAC suit for the 2017 Expanse Halloween cosplay contest. Or actually, he had his wife submit photos with her Twitter account. Mike is a devoted fan and for his efforts, he received the award for "Best Belter" and the award for "Most Attention to Detail". Here is what he told us. Mike, How long have you been a fan? Since the show aired back in December of 2015. I was hooked by the online streaming preview Syfy did. Do you both read the books and watch the show? I never heard of the books before the show, but after season one ended I started reading them. I am almost done with Babylon's Ashes. I love both the books and the show. You're employed by the US public organization most synonymous with genius and particularly rocket science. How does that influence how you enjoy the books/show? Are you more scrutinizing of the portrayal of technology? Do you feel you have a stronger bond with the characters? the cast? the production team? Have they been to visit your workplace? Do you get special treatment from them? I do work for NASA (but as the lawyers will remind me this is a not an endorsement of the show just personal opinion) I think JPL has helped with the show and had that Q&A event with the cast/crew and there was an astronaut/crew event in NYC a little while ago. but I am not involved with helping/advising the show. I am a member of the science and entertainment exchange but haven't done any consulting for the Expanse. I definitely see the show as potential natural progression of where exploration could go with a few breakthroughs like the Epstein Drive. I try to push our engineers to look for those crazy moonshots instead of the small tweaks to the hardware because I would love to see us starting making progress out of the gravity well further. I am not the typical NASA engineer as my office is full of scifi posters from Firefly, ''Doctor Who'' and other stuff. Plus, some Funko pops of characters that inspire me. cough. Where is the official Expanse merch? I would love to add some Roci blueprints and crew Funkos. cough. I would love to be Alex flying the Roci around the system but, probably, my 11 years and 28 missions in mission control is as close as I get to flying a spacecraft. For what event did you cosplay? I built the Belter Vacsuit for Comicpalooza 2017 which was here in Houston Mother's Day weekend May 12-14. I also have a blue Canterbury jumpsuit I made with ironed-on patches and logos. Did you design and construct your costume personally or take specific input from a team? I built it all myself. It is the first cosplay I made for myself. I usually make stuff for my kids. I just sort of winged it since I don't have a mannequin or anything to build off of. The Tested video of Adam's tour of the set and costume department was helpful to generate ideas. Did you overcome specific challenges in design, sourcing, construction? Probably not spending too much money on parts. I didn't worry about going for screen accurate with trying to source the 3M painter helmet system (Roci vac suit) or the Chinese high altitude helmet (Miller's vac suit) since both were pretty pricey. I figured, since Belters are all different, I could just go with a motorcycle helmet that the whole front opened up on. I found it on ebay for $35 new. Which was great. The back pack I kept bidding on ebay ones but, they kept going up pretty high ($150). So, I found it on AliExpress direct from China for under $50. You just had to wait. The lights on the mag boots I found some USB rechargeable tail lights for a bicycle which I thought worked pretty well for the look. the rest is just craft foam, lots of glue. and some sale items from Academy Sports store for the materials. oh and a fish tank water hose for the cooling lines in between the inner and outer layer of the suit. probably should have talked to some guys in the spacesuit section at work and made that cooling loop work cause the suit is hot in Houston summer :) You shared a detailed breakdown of components. Is this the first time you've done this or how many iterations have you made? Is this something that your colleagues at work compete on? First time build for me. A friend helped with a few leads on the motorcycle helmet and boots but, for the most part, I didn't tell anyone until I was done. I didn't want the real spacesuit techs to nit pick my design :) Did you have a designated photographer? Nope, just the wife took the images at home and my son when I went up to talk with Chad Coleman at the con. I did have myself scanned by a Twindom franchise and have a 7" 3d printed full color sandstone version of myself on my desk. What character do you most relate to and was that who you were mimicking with your Belter EVA suit? Probably Alex as the pilot cause as a GNC flight Controller for the shuttle, we basically flew the shuttle from the ground. just going for a random Belter no one in particular though I did use Canterbury logos/patches. Next to the actor who portrays that character, is there a member of the production you'd like to meet? I would love to meet them all including the writers to just tell them what an inspiration the show/books have been about space exploration What other entrant from the contest stood out to you the most? The Julie Mao with led PM growths. I had contemplated for Comicpalooza to do Blue Canterbury jump suit on Friday, Belter Vac Suit on Saturday and then infected Eros Belter on Sunday but I never got around to that final one. she pulled off the look I had in my head for what I would have done really well. What are you hoping to happen in the coming season? Are we sure you want to talk spoilers? Press to reveal SPOILERS The return of Miller and the Gate will be interesting to see how they handle that and how the story moves from there. The whole Slow Zone will be interesting to see how they film that and what the sets look like. What is different about the Expanse than from other stuff on TV? I find the Expanse more grounded like Firefly years ago. not FTL just a great story about the characters more than the technology. What do you tell friends who you want to try the Expanse? It is about what the solar system could look like in a few hundred years if NASA and others ever got back to some real exploration. How do you see sci fi and your kind of work influencing one another? From the perspective of someone close to the technology, what should people expect from the future of your work and space travel. I work at NASA because I was inspired by two things before I was five. Star Wars and my first plane ride (it was a Delta open house day for the community so folks could take a short flight over Boston). I knew from then I wanted to be an astronautical and aeronautical engineer even if I couldn't spell it. Scifi is the future "what if" of what is possible. Good or bad, it can be an inspiration or dire warning. real space exploration can be an engine for innovation and inspiration for a generation but, we have been stuck in low earth orbit for too long it is time to get back out there. I think SpaceX has grand ambition and hope that spurs folks forward because again personal not official opinion the big government programs have been anchored and appeasing the old space contractors who aren't worried about progress but keeping people working in certain districts. it is an exciting time for space exploration with the commercial startups wanting to go the moon, mars and asteroids and I wish them all the best. lets go. What other things are you involved in? I help plan our outreach activities (panels/booths) for Comicpalooza and other conventions in the area. I am helping with a cool VR film called Space Explorers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5lnRIlqBjs by a company called Felix and Paul about what NASA is doing so I got to take our rover to the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico for filming on the dunes. It was otherworldly. Other than that just working on cosplay for my three kids. Mike, thanks for taking to the time to answer my questions and sharing your experiences with this Expanse cosplay. You can find Mike on reddit as minterbartolo. We hope to see some of more of his creations and we'll be looking forward to seeing his impressions on the novel Babylon's Ashes and, later, Persepolis Rises. Media ExpanseHalloweenCosplay2017 12-00.jpg ExpanseHalloweenCosplay2017 12-01.jpg ExpanseHalloweenCosplay2017 12-02.jpg ExpanseHalloweenCosplay2017 12-03.jpg ExpanseHalloweenCosplay2017 12-04.jpg ExpanseHalloweenCosplay2017 12-05.jpg ExpanseHalloweenCosplay2017 12-06.jpg ExpanseHalloweenCosplay2017 12-07.jpg ExpanseHalloweenCosplay2017 12-08.jpg See also *The Expanse: Halloween cosplay contest *The Expanse visits Caltech *Astronaut Rick Mastracchio on science in The Expanse Category:Blog posts